Salina residents will have the chance to get rid of unused and unwanted medication this weekend.

Law enforcement will collect unused medications at several locations around the city on Saturday as a part of the DEA Drug Take-Back Day.

According to Lt. Sean Kochanowski with the Saline County Sheriff’s Office, drop off locations that Saturday will be at Salina Regional Health Center on Santa Fe, Dillon’s on Cloud and Walmart on S. 9th. Lt. Kochanowski says over the past ten years, authorities have taken back 12,998 pounds of unwanted and unused medications.

The National Drug Take-Back Day is coordinated by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, which collects and safely destroys the medications. The collection events are part of a nationwide effort to safely dispose of leftover medications to prevent accidental or intentional misuse.

Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates opioid overdoses kill nearly 130 Americans every day. According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, pharmaceutical opioids are a leading cause of drug poisoning deaths in Kansas.

Studies show a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that traditional methods for disposing of unused medicines – flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash – pose potential safety and health hazards and should be avoided.

Since the Drug Take-Back Day program began in 2010, more than 118 tons of unwanted medications have been collected and destroyed in Kansas alone.

Medications will be accepted at drop-off sites across Salina from 10am to 2pm on Saturday, April 22.

Unused prescriptions can be turned in year-round at many local law enforcement locations, including at the Saline County Sheriff’s Office at 251 N. 10th Street.